Source device and control method thereof, and sink device and image quality improvement processing method thereof

ABSTRACT

A source and a sink device are provided. The sink device includes: an interface configured to receive, from a source device, a content, and image quality-related data regarding a next scene to be output after a scene output from the sink device from among a plurality of scenes forming the content; a storage configured to store the image quality-related data received from the source device; and a processor configured to perform an image quality improvement process with respect to the next scene to be output using the stored image quality-related data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No.10-2015-0060484, filed on Apr. 29, 2015, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Field

Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments broadlyrelate to a source device and a control method thereof, and a sinkdevice and an image quality improvement processing method thereof, andmore particularly, to a source device and a control method thereof, anda sink device and an image quality improvement processing methodthereof, which provide image quality-related data and perform an imagequality improvement process using the image quality-related data.

Description of the Related Art

The representative examples of a recording medium for recording andreproducing high-quality videos and audios are a Digital Versatile Disk(DVD), and a Blu-ray disk, etc. In addition, various kinds of displayapparatuses which can display high-quality images are widely used.

In particular, display apparatuses having the ability to process HighDynamic Range (HDR) images come into the market in recent years, andusers can enjoy the HDR images having high level image quality.

However, since such display apparatuses do not perform an image qualityimprovement process considering various image quality-related parametersregarding contents, they have a limit to outputting images with imagequality close to original image quality.

SUMMARY

Exemplary embodiments may overcome the above disadvantages and otherdisadvantages not described above. Also, the present disclosure is notrequired to overcome the disadvantages described above, and an exemplaryembodiment may not overcome any of the problems described above.

An exemplary embodiment provides a source device and a control methodthereof, and a sink device and an image quality improvement processingmethod thereof, which transmit image quality-related data regarding acontent one scene early or one scene before the scene is output, andthus perform an image quality improvement process with respect to imagesforming a scene to be output using the image quality-related datatransmitted in advance.

According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, a sink deviceincludes: an interface configured to receive, from a source device,content and image quality-related data such that a scene, from among anumber of scenes forming the content, is received with the imagequality-related data regarding a next scene to be output after thescene; a storage configured to store the image quality-related datareceived by the interface; and a processor configured to perform animage quality improvement process with respect to the next scene to beoutput using the image quality-related data stored in the storage.

The image quality-related data received by the interface may be in adivided form.

The processor may be configured to determine a number of the dividedimage quality-related data and an order of the divided imagequality-related data based on information received from the sourcedevice, and restore the divided image quality-related data to originalimage quality-related data which is the same as before the imagequality-related data is divided.

The sink device may include a display, which is configured to outputcontent. The processor of the sink device may be configured to determinea time at which a scene is changed based on information received fromthe source device, and perform the image quality improvement processwith respect to the next scene using the image quality-related datastored by the storage during the outputting the next scene by thedisplay.

The processor may be configured to determine a scene number of the nextscene based on information received from the source device, anddetermine whether or not the stored image quality-related data isapplicable to the next scene based on the scene number determined by theprocessor.

The interface may be connected with the source device through an HDMI,and the image quality-related data may be received by the interface inan SPD infoframe.

According to another aspect of an exemplary embodiment, a source deviceincludes: an interface configured to transmit content to the sink devicewhich reproduces the content; and a processor configured to control theinterface to transmit, to the sink device, image quality-related dataalong with the content such that a scene from among a plurality ofscenes forming the content is transmitted with the image quality-relateddata regarding a next scene to be output after the scene.

The processor may be configured to divide the image quality-related dataregarding the next scene, and transmit, to the sink device, the imagequality-related data divided by the processor.

The processor may be configured to transmit, to the sink device, atleast one of: information about division of the image quality-relateddata, information about a time at which the scene transmitted to thesink device is changed, information about the scene, and informationabout the image quality-related data.

The processor may be configured to determine whether or not the sinkdevice is able to perform an image quality improvement process based onEDID received from the sink device, and, in response to the processordetermining that the sink device is able to perform the image qualityimprovement process, transmit the image quality-related data to the sinkdevice.

According to another aspect of an exemplary embodiment, an image qualityimprovement processing method includes: receiving, from a source device,content and image quality-related data such that a scene, from among aplurality of scenes from the content, is received with the imagequality-related data regarding a next scene to be output after thescene; storing the received image quality-related data; and performingan image quality improvement process with respect to the next sceneusing the stored image quality-related data.

The image quality-related data may be received in a divided form fromthe source device.

The image quality improvement processing method may further includedetermining a number of the divided image quality-related data and anorder of the divided image quality-related data based on informationreceived from the source device, and restoring the divided imagequality-related data to original image quality-related data which is thesame as before the image quality-related data is divided.

The sink device may output the content which includes the plurality ofscenes. The performing the image quality improvement process may includedetermining a time at which a scene is changed based on informationreceived from the source device, and performing the image qualityimprovement process with respect to the next scene using the storedimage quality-related data during the outputting of the next scene.

The image quality improvement processing method may further includedetermining a scene number of the next scene based on informationreceived from the source device, and determining whether the storedimage quality-related data is applicable to the next scene based on thedetermined scene number.

The receiving from the source device may be through an HDMI, and theimage quality-related data may be received in an SPD infoframe.

According to yet another aspect of an exemplary embodiment, a method ofcontrolling a source device includes: obtaining content and imagequality-related data; and transmitting, to a sink device whichreproduces the content, the content and the image quality-related datasuch that a scene from among a plurality of scenes forming the contentis transmitted with the image quality-related data regarding a nextscene to be output after the scene.

The method may further include dividing the image quality-related dataregarding the next scene, and transmitting the divided imagequality-related data to the sink device.

The control method may further include transmitting, to the sink device,at least one of: information about division of the image quality-relateddata, information about a time at which the scene transmitted to thesink device is changed, information about the scene, and informationabout the image quality-related data.

The method may include determining whether or not the sink device isable to perform an image quality improvement process based on EDIDreceived from the sink device, and, in response to the determining thatthe sink device is able to perform the image quality improvementprocess, the transmitting may include transmitting the imagequality-related data to the sink device.

According to various exemplary embodiments, since the imagequality-related data regarding the content can be used for the imagequality improvement process, the images can be output with image qualitywhich is as close as possible to the image quality of the originalcontent, so that improved image quality can be provided to the user.

Additional and/or other aspects and/or advantages of the invention willbe set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, willbe obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of thepresent disclosure. Exemplary embodiments address at least the aboveproblems and/or disadvantages and other disadvantages not describedabove. Also, the exemplary embodiments are not required to overcome thedisadvantages described above, and an exemplary embodiment may notovercome any of the problems described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and/or other aspects will be more apparent by describingcertain exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an image quality improvement systemaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are block diagrams illustrating a configuration of asource device according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating information inserted into an SPD Infoframeaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are views illustrating an EDID structure according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are block diagrams illustrating a configuration of asink device according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a method of performing an image qualityimprovement process according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an image quality improvementprocessing method of a sink device according to an exemplary embodiment;and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a source deviceaccording to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments may be diversely modified. Accordingly, specificexemplary embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and are describedin detail in the detailed description. However, it is to be understoodthat the present disclosure is not limited to a specific exemplaryembodiment, but includes all modifications, equivalents, andsubstitutions without departing from the scope and spirit of the presentdisclosure. Also, well-known functions or constructions are notdescribed in detail since they would obscure the disclosure withunnecessary detail.

The terms “first”, “second”, etc. may be used to describe diversecomponents, but the components are not limited by the terms. The termsare only used to distinguish one component from the others.

The terms used in the present application are only used to describeexemplary embodiments, but are not intended to limit the scope of thedisclosure. The singular expression also includes the plural meaning aslong as it does not require a different meaning in the context. In thepresent application, the terms “include” and “consist of” designate thepresence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, elements,or a combination thereof that are written in the specification, but donot exclude the presence or possibility of addition of one or more otherfeatures, numbers, steps, operations, components, elements, or acombination thereof.

In an exemplary embodiment, a “module” or a “unit” performs at least onefunction or operation, and may be implemented with hardware, software,or a combination of hardware and software. In addition, a plurality of“modules” or a plurality of “units” may be integrated into at least onemodule except for a “module” or a “unit” which has to be implementedwith specific hardware, and may be implemented with at least oneprocessor (not shown).

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be explained in greater detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an image quality improvement systemaccording to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, the imagequality improvement system includes a source device 100 and a sinkdevice 200.

The source device 100 transmits content to the sink device 200. That is,the source device 100 may serve as a content output device to providecontent to the sink device 200.

In an exemplary embodiment, the content may be pre-stored in the sourcedevice 100 or the source device 100 may receive content from an externalmedium such as a DVD, a Blu-ray disk, a Universal Serial Bus (USB), anexternal hard disk, or the like, and transmit the content to the sinkdevice 200.

In addition, the source device 100 may receive broadcast signals from abroadcasting station, and transmit content included in the broadcastsignals to the sink device 200, or may download content or receive astream of content from an external server (not shown) through theInternet, and transmit the content to the sink device 200.

The content recited herein is a High Dynamic Range (HDR) content, suchas a movie or a drama produced in the HDR, and for example, may includean Ultra High Definition (UHD) image or a Super-UHD (S-UHD) image whichis produced by applying HDR image technology, and an audio related tothe image.

In addition, the source device 100 may transmit image quality-relateddata regarding the content to the sink device 200.

Specifically, since the content is formed of a plurality of scenes, thesource device 100 may transmit image quality-related data regarding eachof the scenes to the sink device 200.

The scene recited herein, in an exemplary embodiment, refers to a partof a movie or a drama in which a series of actions or talks happencontinuously in the same place and time. That is, a plurality of shotsmay form a single scene (or a single shot may form a single scene), andone of the sequences may be a single scene.

The sink device 200 may output the content which is received from thesource device 100.

In an exemplary embodiment, since the content is the HDR content, thesink device 200 may be implemented by using a content display apparatuswhich can support the HDR content. For example, the sink device 200 maybe implemented by using a TV, a PC, or the like which can reproduce theHDR content.

In addition, the sink device 200 may perform an image qualityimprovement process with respect to the content using the imagequality-related data which is received from the source device 100.

Specifically, since the source device 100 transmits the imagequality-related data regarding each of the scenes to the sink device200, the sink device 200 may perform the image quality improvementprocess with respect to the content on the basis of each scene using theimage quality-related data.

Since the image quality-related data includes information about an imagewhen the original content is produced, the sink device 200 may performthe image quality improvement process using the image quality-relateddata, thereby outputting an image having image quality close to theoriginal image quality. Accordingly, the user may be provided with thecontent of improved image quality.

Hereinafter, a method of performing an image quality improvement processon the basis of each scene will be explained in detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a sourcedevice according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the source device 100 includes an interface 110and a processor 120.

The interface 110 may communicate with the sink device 200 and transmitthe content to the sink device 200. In addition, the interface 110 maytransmit the image quality-related data regarding each of the scenesforming the content to the sink device 200. The interface 110 may be anHDMI interface having a number of slots for the pins of an HDMIcable/connector or the like, by way of an example.

For example, the interface 110 may communicate with the sink device 200in a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) method through an HDMIconnector, and transmit the content and the image quality-related dataregarding each of the scenes forming the content to the sink device 200.

However, this is merely an example, and the interface 110 may beconnected with the sink device 200 in various methods such as MobileHigh Definition Link (MHL), etc.

The processor 120 controls the overall operations of the source device100. The processor 120 may include a micro-com (or a central processingunit (CPU)), and a Random Access Memory (RAM) and a Read Only Memory(ROM) for the operations of the source device 100.

The processor 120 may control the interface 110 to transmit the contentreproduced in the source device 100, and the image quality-related dataregarding each of the scenes forming the content to the sink device 200.

Specifically, since content producer encodes content and metadata on thecontent when producing the content, the processor 120 may extract thecontent and the metadata of the content from the encoded content bydecoding the encoded content.

In an exemplary embodiment, the metadata may include the imagequality-related data regarding the content. Specifically, the metadatamay include the image quality-related data regarding each of theplurality of scenes forming the content.

For example, when a movie content is formed of 100 scenes, the metadatamay include image quality-related data regarding the first scene, imagequality-related data regarding the second scene, . . . , imagequality-related data regarding the 99^(th) scene, and imagequality-related data regarding the 100^(th) scene.

Herein, the image quality-related data is information about imagesforming the scene, and may include image quality-related informationwhich may be used for the image quality improvement process.

For example, the image quality-related data may include informationabout at least one of maximum brightness, average brightness, minimumbrightness, colorimetry, cadence, sharpness improvement and noisereduction, a motion characteristic, an original resolution, etc. of theimages forming the scene.

As described above, according to an exemplary embodiment, the processor120 may acquire the content and the image quality-related data regardingeach of the scenes forming the content, and transmit the content and theimage quality-related data regarding each of the scenes forming thecontent to the sink device 200.

In an exemplary embodiment, the processor 120 may control the interface110 to transmit, to the sink device 200, image quality-related dataregarding the next scene to be output after the scene which is outputfrom the sink device 200 from among the plurality of scenes forming thecontent, with the content of the scene output from the sink device 200.

Specifically, since the interface 110 includes an HDMI connector andcommunicates with the sink device 200 in the HDMI method, the processor120 may form HDMI frames with images and audios forming each of thescenes, and transmit the HDMI frames to the sink device 200 seriallythrough the interface 110. However, according to an exemplaryembodiment, the HDMI frame may include one of the image and the audio ormay not include the image and the audio.

Accordingly, the sink device 200 may acquire the images and the audiosforming the scene from the HDMI frames received from the source device100, and output the plurality of scenes forming the content serially.

For example, it is assumed that the fourth scene is formed of 1000 imageframes, and the fifth scene is formed of 1200 image frames.

In an exemplary embodiment, the processor 120 may serially transmit, tothe sink device 200, an HDMI frame including the first image frame fromamong the image frames forming the fourth scene, and an audio signal, anHDMI frame including the second image frame from among the image framesforming the fourth scene, and an audio signal, . . . , an HDMI frameincluding the 1000^(th) image frame from among the image frames formingthe fourth scene, and an audio signal.

Thereafter, the processor 120 may serially transmit, to the sink device200, an HDMI frame including the first image frame from among the imageframes forming the fifth scene, and an audio signal, an HDMI frameincluding the second image frame from among the image frames forming thefifth scene, and an audio signal, . . . , an HDMI frame including the1200^(th) image frame from among the image frames forming the fifthscene, and an audio signal.

Accordingly, the sink device 200 may acquire the images and the audiosfrom the HDMI frames corresponding to the fourth scene, which arereceived from the source device 100, and output the images and theaudios forming the fourth scene, and may acquire the images and theaudios from the HDMI frames corresponding to the fifth scene, which arereceived from the source device 100, and output the images and theaudios forming the fifth scene.

Accordingly, the sink device 200 may output the fourth scene and thefifth scene serially.

Meanwhile, the processor 120 may transmit image quality-related dataregarding the next scene to be output after the scene output from thesink device 200, to the sink device 200, along with the content of thescene output from the sink device 200.

That is, the processor 120 may transmit, to the sink device 200, theimage quality-related data regarding the next scene of the scenebelonging to the images and the audios which are currently transmittedto the sink device 200, along with the images and the audios which arecurrently transmitted to the sink device 200.

For example, when the source device 100 transmits the images and theaudios forming the fifth scene to the sink device 200, the sink device200 outputs the fifth scene. In an exemplary embodiment, whentransmitting the images and the audios forming the fifth scene to thesink device 200, the processor 120 may transmit image quality-relateddata regarding the sixth scene to the sink device 200.

As described above, the processor 120 may transmit the imagequality-related data regarding the next scene to be output after thescene currently output from the sink device 200, to the sink device 200one scene early.

In an exemplary embodiment, the processor 120 may insert the imagequality-related data into a Source Product Description (SPD) Infoframeof the HDMI frame, and transmit the image quality-related data to thesink device 200.

That is, according to the HDMI standard, the source device 100 transmitsinformation about the manufacturer, model name, and product descriptionof the source device 100 to the sink device 200 through the SPDinfoframe. However, according to an exemplary embodiment, the sourcedevice 100 may transmit the image quality-related data regarding thescene to the sink device 200 through the SPD infoframe instead of theabove-described information. However, this is merely an example, and theimage quality-related data regarding the scene may be inserted into theother areas in the HDMI frame in addition to the SPD infoframe, andtransmitted to the sink device 200.

For example, the processor 120 may insert the image quality-related dataregarding the sixth scene into the SPD infoframe of the HDMI framesincluding the image frames and the audio signals forming the fifthscene, and transmit the image quality-related data to the sink device200.

Meanwhile, the processor 120 may divide the image quality-related dataregarding the next scene to be output, and transmit the imagequality-related data to the sink device 200. That is, the imagequality-related data may be divided in the source device 100 andtransmitted to the sink device 200.

Specifically, the image quality-related data regarding the scene isinserted into the SPD infoframe and transmitted to the sink device 200.However, the amount of image quality-related data which can betransmitted through the SPD infoframe of a single HDMI frame is limited.

Therefore, when the size of the image quality-related data regarding thescene is greater than the amount of data which can be transmittedthrough the SPD infoframe of a single HDMI frame, the imagequality-related data regarding the scene may be divided, and the dividedimage quality-related data may be inserted into the SPD infoframes ofthe plurality of HDMI frames and transmitted to the sink device 200.

For example, it is assumed that the size of the image quality-relateddata which can be transmitted through the SPD infoframe of a single HDMIframe is 18 bytes, and the size of the image quality-related dataregarding the sixth scene is 575 bytes.

In an exemplary embodiment, the processor 120 may divide the imagequality-related data regarding the sixth scene by 18 bytes, and transmitthe image quality-related data regarding the sixth scene, which isdivided by 18 bytes, to the sink device 200 serially through the SPDinfoframes of the 32 HDMI frames.

In this case, the size of the image quality-related data regarding thesixth scene is 575 bytes and thus, the 575 bytes may be divided suchthat 575=18*31+17.

That is, the processor 120 may insert the image quality-related dataregarding the sixth scene, which is divided by 18 bytes (i.e. 18 bytesof the image quality-related data), into the SPD infoframe of the HDMIframe including the first image frame from among the image framesforming the fifth scene, and the audio signals, insert the imagequality-related data regarding the sixth scene, which is divided by 18bytes, into the SPD infoframe of the HDMI frame including the secondimage frame from among the image frames forming the fifth scene, and theaudio signals, . . . , insert the image quality-related data regardingthe sixth scene, which is divided by 18 bytes, into the SPD infoframe ofthe HDMI frame including the 31^(st) image frame from among the imageframes forming the fifth scene, and the audio signals, and insert theimage quality-related data regarding the sixth scene, which is dividedby 17 bytes, into the SPD infoframe of the HDMI frame including the32^(nd) image frame from among the image frames forming the fifth scene,and the audio signals, and transmit the image quality-related data tothe sink device 200.

Meanwhile, the processor 120 may transmit a variety of information tothe sink device 200 in addition to the image quality-related dataregarding the scene.

For example, the processor 120 may transmit, to the sink device 200, atleast one of: information about a division of the image quality-relateddata, information about a time at which the scene transmitted to thesink device 200 is changed, information about the scene transmitted tothe sink device 200, and information about the image quality-relateddata transmitted to the sink device 200.

Herein, in an exemplary embodiment, the information about the divisionof the image quality-related data may include information about thenumber of divided image quality-related data and information about theorder of divided image quality-related data when the imagequality-related data is divided.

Accordingly, when the image quality-related data is divided, theprocessor 120 may determine how many pieces the image quality-relateddata is divided into, and determine the order of each of the dividedimage quality-related data, and transmit corresponding information tothe sink device 200.

Meanwhile, when the content producer produces the content, the contentproducer may additionally insert, into metadata, information about thescenes forming the content, for example, the number of scenes formingthe content, the scene number of each of the scenes, and the start pointand the end point of each of the scenes, as well as the imagequality-related data regarding each of the scenes.

Accordingly, the processor 120 may determine a time at which the sceneis changed in the content using the information acquired from themetadata, and transmit information thereon to the sink device 200.

For example, the processor 120 may determine the time at which the sceneof the content output from the sink device 200 is changed by determininga time at which the scene belonging to the images and the audioscurrently transmitted to the sink device 200 ends and the next scenestarts, and transmit information about the time at which the scene ofthe content is changed to the sink device 200.

In addition, the processor 120 may determine the scene which istransmitted to the sink device 200 using the information acquired fromthe metadata, and transmit information thereon to the sink device 200.

For example, the processor 120 may determine the scene number of a scenethat the images and the audios being transmitted to the sink device 200belong to, and transmit information about the scene number of thecorresponding scene to the sink device 200.

Meanwhile, the information about the image quality-related datatransmitted to the sink device 200 may be the scene number of a scenematching the image quality-related data.

That is, since the metadata includes the image quality-related dataregarding each scene, the processor 120 may determine the scene numberof a scene matching the image quality-related data, and transmitinformation thereon to the sink device 200.

In an exemplary embodiment, the processor 120 may insert otherinformation into the SPD infoframe in addition to the imagequality-related information, and transmit the information to the sinkdevice 200.

For example, it is assumed that the image quality-related data regardingthe sixth scene is divided into 32 pieces, and is transmitted to thesink device 200 through the SPD infoframe.

In an exemplary embodiment, when transmitting the images and the audiosregarding the fifth scene to the sink device 200, the processor 120 mayinsert the image quality-related data regarding the sixth scene, whichis divided into 32 pieces, into the SPD infoframes of the 32 HDMI framesincluding the image frames and the audio signals of the fifth scene, andtransmit the image quality-related data to the sink device 200 serially.

In this case, the processor 120 may insert, into the SPD infoframes ofthe 32 HDMI frames, information indicating that the imagequality-related data regarding the sixth scene is divided into 32pieces, information about the order of the 32 pieces of the imagequality-related data regarding the sixth scene, which are inserted intothe SPD infoframes of the HDMI frames, information indicating that theimage frames and the audio signals included in the HDMI frames form thefifth scene, and information indicating that the image quality-relateddata is related to the sixth scene.

To transmit the information about the time at which the scene ischanged, the processor 120 may insert the information indicating thatthe scene is changed into the SPD infoframe of the HDMI frame which istransmitted to the sink device 200 first as the scene is changed.

In the above-described example, the processor 120 may insert theinformation indicating that the scene is changed into the SPD infoframeof the HDMI frame including the first image frame and the audio signalforming the fifth scene, and transmit the information to the sink device200.

As described above, when the scene is changed and a new scene is outputfrom the sink device 200, the processor 120 may insert the informationindicating that the scene is changed into the SPD infoframe of the HDMIframe which is initially transmitted to the sink device 200, andtransmit the information to the sink device 200 in order to output thenew scene.

When a scene has a short time to be reproduced, the processor 120 maynot have sufficient time to transmit image quality-related dataregarding the next scene while transmitting the content of the scene tothe sink device 200.

In this case, the processor 120 may not transmit the imagequality-related data regarding the next scene or may transmit only apart of the image quality-related data regarding the next scene that canbe transmitted to the sink device 200.

For example, the processor 120 may transmit only a part of the imagequality-related data regarding the next scene as much as can betransmitted while the content is transmitted to the sink device 200.

Specifically, when the processor 120 can only transmit the informationrelated to maximum brightness of an image from among pieces ofinformation forming the image quality-related data about the next scenethrough the HDMI frame which is required to transmit images and audiosforming a single scene to the sink device 200, the processor 120 mayonly transmit the information related to the maximum brightness of theimage forming the next scene to the sink device 200 along with theimages and the audios forming the scene.

In another example, when the sink device 200 performs an image qualityimprovement process with respect to the content using the imagequality-related data, the processor 120 may only transmit the importantinformation to the image quality improvement process; that is, only theinformation which greatly effects the image quality improvement to thesink device 200 i.e., only the most effective information such asmaximum brightness; effectiveness of the information is determined basedon a criteria which may be user pre-set or system generated.

Specifically, when the colorimetry of the image has a significant effecton the image quality improvement process from among pieces ofinformation forming the image quality-related data, the processor 120may transmit only the information on the colorimetry of the imageforming the next scene to the sink device 200 along with the images andthe audios forming the scene.

In addition, before a scene having a short time to be reproduced isoutput e.g., a scene that needs to be reproduced quickly and/or a scenethat is short, the processor 120 may transmit the image quality-relateddata regarding the next scene of the scene having the short time to bereproduced to the sink device 200.

For example, it is assumed that the seventh scene has a short time to bereproduced and thus the image quality-related data regarding the eighthscene cannot be transmitted to the sink device 200 while the contentforming the seventh scene is transmitted.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the processor 120 may thentransmit the image quality-related data regarding the eighth scene tothe sink device 200 while transmitting the images and the audios formingthe sixth scene to the sink device 200. That is, the processor 120 maytransmit the image quality-related data regarding the seventh scenewhile transmitting the images and the audios forming the sixth scene tothe sink device 200, and may transmit the image quality-related dataregarding the eighth scene when the image quality-related data regardingthe seventh scene is completely transmitted.

When there exists a scene having a short time to be reproduced in thecontent, the processor 120 may transmit information thereon to the sinkdevice 200.

Specifically, the processor 120 may acquire information about the scenesforming the content from the metadata and determine a reproducing timeof each of the scenes, determine the size of the image quality-relateddata of each of the scenes, and determine whether there is a scene thathas a short reproducing time so that the image quality-related datacannot be transmitted.

In addition, when there is a scene which has a short reproducing time,and the processor 120 transmits the previous scene of the scene havingthe short reproducing time to the sink device 200, the processor 120 mayinsert information on the number of scenes having the short reproducingtime and coming after the corresponding scene into the SPD infoframe,and transmit the information to the sink device 200.

For example, it is assumed that the seventh scene and the eighth scenehave a short reproducing time e.g., they are short scenes.

In an exemplary embodiment, since the two continuous scenes after thesixth scene have the short reproducing time, the processor 120 mayinsert information indicating that there are two scenes having a shortreproducing time after the sixth scene into the SPD infoframe of theHDMI frame when transmitting the HDMI frames including the images andthe audios forming the sixth scene to the sink device 200, and transmitthe information to the sink device 200.

Meanwhile, when the processor 120 transmits all of the imagequality-related data regarding the next scene while the sink device 200outputs the scene, the processor 120 may not transmit the imagequality-related data again, and may transmit the information about themanufacturer, model name, and product description of the source device100 to the sink device 200 through the SPD infoframe according to theHDMI standard, in an exemplary embodiment.

In the above-described example, since the processor 120 transmits all ofthe image quality-related data regarding the sixth scene to the sinkdevice 200 while transmitting the 32 HDMI frames to the sink device 200,the processor 120 may insert the information about the manufacturer,model name, and product description of the source device 100 into theSPD infoframes of the 33^(rd) HDMI frame to the 1200^(th) HDMI frame,and transmit the information to the sink device 200.

Hereinafter, according to an exemplary embodiment, the SPD infoframewill be explained in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating information which is inserted into the SPDinfoframe according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3, the SPD infoframe is divided into a header and adata region.

First, the header includes a scene transition flag, a null metadatascene, a metadata present, an UHD version, and a metadata packet size.

In an exemplary embodiment, the scene transition flag, the null metadatascene, the metadata present, and the UHD version may be inserted intodata byte 1 of the SPD infoframe, and the metadata packet size may beinserted into data byte 2 of the SPD infoframe.

The scene transition flag may be formed of one bit, and includesinformation about a time at which a scene is changed.

Specifically, as shown in table 1 presented below, according to anexemplary embodiment, in the SPD infoframe of the HDMI frame which istransmitted to the sink device 200 at the time when a scene is changedand a new scene starts, that is, in the SPD infoframe of the HDMI frameincluding the first image frame of the new scene, the scene transitionflag may be set to 1 and indicate that the scene is changed from thecorresponding HDMI frame and the new scene starts. In addition, in theSPD infoframes of the other HDMI frames of the corresponding scene, thescene transition flag may be set to 0.

TABLE 1 Scene transition flag 0 No scene transition 1 Scene transition

Accordingly, the source device 100 provides the information about thetime at which the scene is changed to the sink device 200 through thescene transition flag, and the sink device 200 may determine the time atwhich the scene is changed using the scene transition flag.

The null metadata scene is formed of at least one bit and includesinformation about a scene having a short reproducing time.

Specifically, when there is a scene having a short reproducing timeafter the scene transmitted to the sink device 200, the null metadatascene may include information about the number of scenes having a shortreproducing or reproduction time. According to an exemplary embodiment,a reserved bit that exists in the header may be additionally used toprovide the information about the scene having the short reproducingtime.

For example, when two continuous scenes after the scene transmitted tothe sink device 200 have a short reproducing time, the null metadatascene is set to 10 and provides information indicating that the twoscenes reproduced after the scene transmitted to the sink device 200have a short reproducing time to the sink device 200.

The metadata present is formed of one bit and includes information aboutwhether image quality-related data is included in the SPD infoframe ornot. That is, the metadata includes information about whether the SPDinfoframe carries image quality-related data.

Specifically, when the SPD infoframe of the HDMI frame includes theimage quality-related data as shown in table 2 presented below, themetadata present may be set to 1, and, when the SPD infoframe of theHDMI frame does not include image quality-related data, the metadatapresent may be set to 0.

TABLE 2 Metadata present 0 No metadata 1 Metadata present

Accordingly, the source device 100 may provide information about whetherthe image quality-related data is included in the SPD infoframe or notto the sink device 200 through the metadata present, and the sink device200 may determine whether the data inserted into the SPD infoframetransmitted from the source device 100 is valid or not as the imagequality-related data using the metadata present.

As described above, according to an exemplary embodiment, the metadatapresent may be used to indicate whether the image quality-related datais included in the SPD infoframe or not.

Accordingly, when all of the image quality-related data regarding thenext scene is transmitted while a scene is output from the sink device200, the metadata present may be set to 0 until the scene output fromthe sink device 200 is changed to the next scene.

That is, in an exemplary embodiment, since the image quality-relateddata regarding the next scene is inserted into the HDMI frame which isinitially transmitted to the sink device 200 at the time when the sceneis changed, and is transmitted to the sink device 200, the imagequality-related data is not transmitted to the sink device 200 throughthe SPD infoframe until all of the image quality-related data regardingthe next scene is transmitted and the scene is changed to a new scene.Therefore, the metadata present may be set to a null data value, thatis, 0 until all of the image quality-related data regarding the nextscene is transmitted and the scene is changed to a new scene.

The UHD version includes information about an UHD version. In anexemplary embodiment, the UHD version may indicate information about theUHD version using 2 bits by way of an example. However, when the UHDversion is changed by updating, for example, the reserved bit existingin the header may be used to indicate the information about the UHDversion.

The metadata packet size includes information about the number ofdivided image quality-related data when the image quality-related datais divided.

Specifically, when the image quality-related data is divided, each ofthe divided image quality-related data forms a packet and is transmittedto the sink device 200. Therefore, the metadata packet size may includeinformation about how many packets are formed by the divided imagequality-related data. When the image quality-related data regarding thesixth scene is divided into 32 pieces as in the above-described example,the metadata packet size may be set to 00100000 and indicate that theimage quality-related data regarding the sixth scene is divided into 32pieces.

Accordingly, the source device 100 may provide information about thenumber of divided image quality-related data to the sink device 200through the metadata packet size, and the sink device 200 may determinethe size of the image quality-related data using the metadata packetsize, and determine whether all of the divided image quality-relateddata is received or not from the source device 100.

The data region includes an UHD metadata byte, a scene number, ametadata scene number, and a metadata divide number.

The UHD metadata byte may be the image quality-related data regardingthe scene, that is, the image quality-related data regarding the nextscene of the scene transmitted to the sink device 200, and may beinserted into data byte 3 to data byte 20 of the SPD infoframe.

The scene number includes information about the scenes of the contentwhich is transmitted to the sink device 200.

Specifically, the scene number may include information about how manyscenes have been transmitted before the current scene is transmitted tothe sink device 200, for example, the scene number of the scenetransmitted to the sink device 200, and may be inserted into data byte21.

For example, when the images and the audios included in the HDMI framewhich is transmitted to the sink device 200 belong to the fifth scene,the scene number is set to 00000101 and may include informationindicating that the images and the audios transmitted to the sink device200 correspond to the fifth scene. That is, the scene number may includethe scene number of the scene to which the images and the audiostransmitted to the sink device 200 belong.

Accordingly, the sink device 200 may determine how many scenes have beentransmitted before the current scene is transmitted from the sourcedevice 100 using the scene number.

The metadata scene number includes information about the imagequality-related data which is transmitted to the sink device 200.

Specifically, the metadata scene number may be transmitted to the sinkdevice 200, includes information about which scene the imagequality-related data is related to, and may be inserted into data byte22.

For example, when the image quality-related data included in the SPDinfoframe of the HDMI frame transmitted to the sink device 200 isrelated to the sixth scene, the metadata scene number may be set to00000110 and include information indicating that the imagequality-related data transmitted to the sink device 200 corresponds tothe sixth scene. That is, the metadata scene number may include thescene number of the scene related to the image quality-related datawhich is transmitted to the sink device 200.

Accordingly, the sink device 200 may determine which scene matches theimage quality-related data transmitted from the source device 100 usingthe metadata scene number.

When the image quality-related data is divided, the metadata dividenumber includes information about the order of the divided imagequality-related data. In an exemplary embodiment, the metadata dividenumber may be inserted into data byte 23.

It is assumed that the image quality-related data regarding the sixthscene is divided into 32 pieces as in the above-described example.

Accordingly, in an exemplary embodiment, the metadata divide number mayinclude information indicating the order of the image quality-relateddata regarding the sixth scene which is inserted into the SPD infoframeof each of the HDMI frames from among the 32 pieces of data.

For example, the source device 100 may divide the image quality-relateddata, insert the divided image quality-related data into the SPDinfoframes of the HDMI frames serially, and transmit the imagequality-related data to the sink device 200.

Accordingly, in an exemplary embodiment, since the second imagequality-related data from among the divided image quality-related dataregarding the sixth scene is inserted into the SPD infoframe of the HDMIframe which includes the second image frame from among the image framesforming the fifth scene, and the audio signals, the metadata dividenumber of the SPD infoframe may include the information indicating thatthe second image quality-related data is inserted into the SPDinfoframe.

As such, according to an exemplary embodiment, the sink device 200 maydetermine the order of the divided image quality-related data using themetadata divide number, and restore the image quality-related data basedon the order of the image quality-related data.

Referring back to FIG. 2A, the processor 120 may determine whether thesink device 200 is able to perform the image quality improvement processbased on Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) received from thesink device 200. When the sink device 200 is able to perform the imagequality improvement process, the processor 120 may transmit the imagequality-related data to the sink device 200.

Specifically, when the sink device 200 is connected in the HDMI method,the source device 100 may access the sink device 200 through a DDCcommunication line, and receive the EDID including informationindicating whether the sink device 200 is able to perform the imagequality improvement process or not from the sink device 200.

Accordingly, in an exemplary embodiment, the processor 120 may determinewhether the sink device 200 is able to perform the image qualityimprovement process or not using the EDID received from the sink device200, and, when the sink device 200 is able to perform the image qualityimprovement process, may transmit the image quality-related dataregarding each of the scenes to the sink device 200.

However, when the sink device 200 is not able to perform the imagequality improvement process, the processor 120 may not transmit theimage quality-related data regarding each of the scenes to the sinkdevice 200. Then, according to an exemplary embodiment, the processor120 may transmit the information about the manufacturer, model name, andproduct description of the source device 100 to the sink device 200through the SPD infoframe as defined in the HDMI standard.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are views illustrating an EDID structure according to anexemplary embodiment.

When the sink device 200 is able to perform the image qualityimprovement process with respect to an UHD image, the sink device 200may pre-store the EDID which includes information indicating that it ispossible to perform the image quality improvement process with respectto the UHD image, and version information related to the image qualityimprovement process.

That is, according to an exemplary embodiment, the manufacturer of thesink device 200 may insert, into the EDID, the information related tothe image quality improvement process as well as a manufacturer IDindicating the manufacturer, a manufacture ID indicating the model nameof a product, and information about the image and audio output standardsof the sink device 200, and then store the EDID in a storing medium (forexample, an EEPROM) provided in the sink device 200.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the information indicatingthat it is possible to perform the image quality improvement processwith respect to the UHD image, and the information on about a versionrelated to the image quality improvement process may be inserted intothe [0Ch] ID serial number of the EDID.

Specifically, when the sink device 200 is able to perform the imagequality improvement process with respect to the UHD image, the bitincluded in the UHD of the ID serial number may be 1, and, when the sinkdevice 200 is not able to perform the image quality improvement processwith respect to the UHD image, the bit included in the UHD of the IDserial number may be 0.

In addition, the UHD version of the ID serial number may include theversion information of an image quality improvement process function onthe UHD image, which is performed in the sink device 200.

Meanwhile, when the source device 100 is connected in the HDMI method,the sink device 200 may transmit its own EDID to the source device 100.

Accordingly, the processor 120 may determine whether the sink device 200is able to perform the image quality improvement process with respect tothe UHD image using the information included in the EDID received fromthe sink device 200, and determine the version information thereon.

In addition, when the sink device 200 is able to perform the imagequality improvement process with respect to the UHD image, the processor120 may insert the image quality-related data into the SPD infoframe ofthe HDMI frame and transmit the image quality-related data to the sinkdevice 200. However, when the sink device 200 is not able to perform theimage quality improvement process with respect to the UHD image, theprocessor 120 may insert the information about the manufacturer, modelname, and product description of the source device 100 into the SPDinfoframe of the HDMI frame, and transmit the information to the sinkdevice 200.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating a source device in detailaccording to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the source device 100 may further include acontent receiver 130 and a storage 140 in addition to the interface 110and the processor 120. The operations of the content receiver 130 andthe storage 140 may be controlled by the processor 120. Since theinterface 110 and the processor 120 have been described with referenceto FIG. 2A, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The content receiver 130 may receive content to be transmitted to thesink device 200.

For example, the content receiver 130 may receive content from anoptical disk such as a DVD, a Blu-ray disk, etc., or may be connectedwith an external medium such as a USB, an external hard disk, etc., andreceive content therefrom.

In addition, the content receiver 130 may be implemented by using atuner (not shown) to receive broadcast signals including content from abroadcasting station, or may be connected with the Internet to downloadcontent or receive streams of content from an external server (notshown).

The storage 140 stores the content. For example, the storage 140 may beimplemented by using various kinds of storage media such as a Read OnlyMemory (ROM), an Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory(EEPROM), a hard disk, or the like, and pre-store the content to betransmitted to the sink device 200.

Accordingly, the processor 120 may transmit the content which isreceived through the content receiver 130 or the content which is storedin the storage 140 to the sink device 200, and transmit, to the sinkdevice 200, the image quality-related data regarding each of the scenesforming the content, one scene earlier than the scene output from thesink device 200, along with the content.

FIG. 5A is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a sink deviceaccording to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5A, the sink device 200 includes an interface 210, astorage 220, and a processor 230.

The interface 210 receives content and image quality-related dataregarding each of the scenes forming the content from the source device100. In particular, the interface 210 may receive image quality-relatedmetadata regarding the next scene to be output after the scene is outputfrom the sink device 200 from among the plurality of scenes forming thecontent.

To achieve this, according to an exemplary embodiment, the interface 210may communicate with the source device 100. For example, the interface210 may communicate with the source device 100 through an HDMI connectorin the HDMI method, and receive the content and the imagequality-related data regarding each of the scenes forming the content.In an exemplary embodiment, the interface 210 may be an HDMI interface.

However, this is merely an example, and the interface 210 may beconnected with the source device 100 in various methods such as a MobileHigh Definition Link (MHL).

The storage 220 may store the image quality-related data received fromthe source device 100. Herein, the image quality-related data may beimage quality-related data regarding the next scene to be output afterthe scene is output from the sink device 200 from among the plurality ofscenes forming the content.

In addition, the storage 220 may pre-store EDID.

In an exemplary embodiment, the EDID may include information indicatingthat it is possible to perform an image quality improvement process withrespect to an image when the sink device 200 is able to perform theimage quality improvement process with respect to the image, and versioninformation related to the image quality improvement process. That is,the EDID may include information related to the image qualityimprovement process as well as information about a manufacturer IDindicating a manufacturer, a manufacture ID indicating the model name ofa product, and the image and audio output standards of the sink device200.

To achieve this, according to an exemplary embodiment, the storage 220may be implemented by using various kinds of storage media such as anROM, an EEPROM, a hard disk, etc.

The processor 230 may control the overall operations of the sink device200. The processor 230 may include a mi-com (or a CPU), and an RAM and aROM for the operations of the sink device 200.

The processor 230 may output the content which is received from thesource device 100.

In an exemplary embodiment, the content is formed of a plurality ofscenes, and the source device 100 forms HDMI frames with images andaudios forming each of the scenes, and transmit the HDMI frames to thesink device 200 serially.

Accordingly, the processor 230 may acquire the images and the audiosforming each of the scenes from the HDMI frames received through theinterface 210, and output the plurality of scenes forming the contentserially through a display (not shown) and an audio outputter (notshown) provided in the sink device 200.

For example, the processor 230 may acquire the images and the audiosfrom the HDMI frame corresponding to the fourth scene, and output theimages and the audios forming the fourth scene, and may acquire theimages and the audios from the HDMI frame corresponding to the fifthscene and output the images and the audios forming the fifth scene.

Accordingly, the processor 230 may output the fourth scene and the fifthscene serially and/or sequentially.

Meanwhile, the source device 100 may transmit the image quality-relateddata regarding the next scene to be output after the scene that isoutput from the sink device 200, to the sink device 200 along with thecontent of the scene output from the sink device 200.

That is, the source device 100 may transmit the image quality-relateddata regarding the next scene of the scene to which the images and theaudios currently transmitted to the sink device 200 belong to the sinkdevice 200 along with the images and the audios currently transmitted tothe sink device 200.

For example, when the source device 100 transmits the images and theaudios forming the fifth scene to the sink device 200, the sink device200 outputs the fifth scene. In an exemplary embodiment, the sourcedevice 100 may transmit the image quality-related data regarding thesixth scene to the sink device 200 when transmitting the images and theaudios forming the fifth scene to the sink device 200.

Accordingly, the processor 230 may control to store the imagequality-related data regarding the next scene to be output after thecurrently output scene in the storage 220 at the same time of outputtingthe scene of the content.

That is, the processor 230 may output the images and the audios whichare received from the source device 100, and store the imagequality-related data received from the source device 100 along with theimages and the audios, that is, the image quality-related data regardingthe next scene of the scene to which the images and the audios receivedfrom the source device 100 belong, in the storage 220.

In the above-described example, the processor 230 may output the imagesand the audios forming the fifth scene, and store the imagequality-related data regarding the sixth scene in the storage 220 whileoutputting the images and the audios forming the fifth scene.

As described above, according to an exemplary embodiment, the processor230 may store the image quality-related data regarding the scene to beoutput one scene later than the scene currently output from the sinkdevice 200. That is, the image quality-related data may be received fromthe source device 100 one scene earlier than the output from the sinkdevice 200, and stored in the sink device 200.

Meanwhile, the source device 100 may insert the image quality-relateddata into the SPD infoframe of the HDMI frame, and transmit the imagequality-related data to the sink device 200. Accordingly, the processor230 may acquire the image quality-related data from the SPD infoframe ofthe HDMI frame. However, this is merely an example, and the imagequality-related data regarding the scene may be inserted into the otherregion in the HDMI frame in addition to the SPD infoframe andtransmitted to the sink device 200.

In the above-described example, the source device 100 may insert theimage quality-related data regarding the sixth scene into the SPDinfoframe of the HDMI frame which includes the images and the audiosignals forming the fifth scene, and transmit the image quality-relateddata to the sink device 200. Accordingly, the processor 230 may acquirethe image quality-related data regarding the sixth scene from the HDMIframe regarding the fifth scene, and store the image quality-relateddata in the storage 220.

In addition, the source device 100 may divide the image quality-relateddata regarding the next scene to be output, and transmit the imagequality-related data to the sink device 200.

That is, the source device 100 may divide the image quality-related dataregarding the scene, insert the divided image quality-related data intothe SPD frames of the plurality of HDMI frames, and transmit the imagequality-related data to the sink device 200.

When the image quality-related data is divided and transmitted asdescribed above, according to an exemplary embodiment, the processor 230may accumulate the divided image quality-related data and generate theoriginal image quality-related data which is the same as before theimage quality-related data is divided, and store the imagequality-related data in the storage 220.

As in the above-described example, it is assumed that the source device100 divides the image quality-related data regarding the sixth sceneinto 32 pieces, and transmits the image quality-related data to the sinkdevice 200 serially through the SPD infoframes of the 32 HDMI frames.

In an exemplary embodiment, the processor 230 may acquire the dividedimage quality-related data regarding the sixth scene from the respectiveSPD infoframes of the 32 HDMI frames, accumulate the imagequality-related data, and generate the original image quality-relateddata regarding the sixth scene, which is the same as before the imagequality-related data is divided.

In an exemplary embodiment, the processor 230 may accumulate the imagequality-related data acquired from the respective HDMI frames accordingto the order of the received HDMI frames.

That is, the processor 230 may generate the original imagequality-related data regarding the sixth scene, which is the same asbefore the image quality-related data is divided, by accumulating theimage quality-related data which is acquired from the SPD infofram ofthe HDMI frame including the first image frame from among the imageframes forming the scene, and the audio signals, the imagequality-related data which is acquired from the SPD infofram of the HDMIframe including the second image frame from among the image framesforming the scene, and the audio signals, . . . , and the imagequality-related data which is acquired from the SPD infofram of the HDMIframe including the 32^(nd) image frame from among the image framesforming the scene, and the audio signals, in sequence.

Meanwhile, the processor 230 may perform the image quality improvementprocess with respect to the next scene to be reproduced using the storedimage quality-related data.

That is, since the storage 220 stores the information about the nextscene to be output after the currently output scene, rather than theinformation about the scene currently being output from the sink device200, the processor 230 may perform the image quality improvement processwith respect to the images forming the next scene using the imagequality-related data stored in the storage 220 when the output of thecurrent scene is completed and the next scene is output, and may outputthe images having the improved image quality.

For example, the processor 230 may perform the image quality improvementprocess with respect to the images forming the next scene usinginformation about maximum brightness of the images included in the imagequality-related data.

For example, it is assumed that the maximum brightness of the imagesincluded in the image quality-related data is 2000 nits (nit: brightnessper square meter (cd/m²)), and the maximum brightness that can be outputby the sink device 200 is 1000 nits. Herein, the maximum brightness ofthe images included in the image quality-related data refers to themaximum brightness of the images forming the next scene with respect tothe scene currently output from the sink device 200, and may be storedin the storage 220.

In an exemplary embodiment, the processor 230 may adjust the brightnessof the images forming the next scene based on the maximum brightnesswhich can be output by the sink device 200, and the maximum brightnessof the images forming the next scene.

Specifically, in an exemplary embodiment, since the maximum brightnessof the images included in the image quality-related data is 2000 nits,and the maximum brightness which can be output by the sink device 200 is1000 nits, the processor 230 may reduce the brightness of the imageframes forming the next scene by 50%, and output the images regardingthe next scene.

In another example, according to an exemplary embodiment, the processor230 may perform the image quality improvement process with respect tothe images forming the next scene using information about colorimetryincluded in the image quality-related data. Herein, the informationabout the colorimetry included in the image quality-related data iscolorimetry information about the images forming the next scene of thescene currently output from the sink device 200, and may be stored inthe storage 220.

Specifically, the processor 230 may change R, G, and B color coordinatevalues of the sink device 200 to match reference values of R, G, and Bcolor coordinates with reference to the reference values of the R, G,and B color coordinates included in the colorimetry information, and mayperform color remapping with respect to the colors of the images formingthe next scene.

As described above, according to an exemplary embodiment, the processor230 may perform the image quality improvement process with respect tothe images forming the next scene using the image quality-related datawhich is transmitted one scene early and stored in the storage 220, whenthe scene currently output from the sink device 200 ends and the nextscene is output, and the images regarding the next scene are output withan improved image quality.

The above-described image quality improvement processing method ismerely an example for the convenience of an explanation. That is, theprocessor 230 may perform the image quality improvement process using avariety of information included in the image quality-related datathrough various technologies in addition to the above-described method,provided by way of an example and not by way of a limitation.

According to an exemplary embodiment, when the image quality-relateddata stored in the storage 220 is used for the image quality improvementprocess, the processor 230 may delete the image quality-related datastored in the storage 220.

In addition, when the images with the improved image quality, areoutputted, the processor 230 may store the image quality-related datareceived from the source device 100 in the storage 220, and may performthe image quality improvement process with respect to the next scene ofthe scene with the images having an improved image quality of, which hasbeen improved using the image quality-related data.

For example, the source device 100 may transmit the images and theaudios forming the fifth scene to the sink device 200 along with theimage quality-related data regarding the sixth scene, and, when thetransmission of the images and the audios forming the fifth scene iscompleted, may transmit the images and the audios forming the sixthscene to the sink device 200 along with the image quality-related dataregarding the seventh scene.

In an exemplary embodiment, when outputting the fifth scene, theprocessor 230 may perform the image quality improvement process withrespect to the fifth scene using the image quality-related dataregarding the fifth scene, which is stored in the storage 220 while thefourth scene is output, and may output the fifth scene having theimproved image quality.

In an exemplary embodiment, the processor 230 may delete the imagequality-related data regarding the fifth scene which is stored in thestorage 220, and may store the image quality-related data regarding thesixth scene, which is received along with the images and the audioforming the fifth scene, in the storage 220.

Thereafter, when outputting the sixth scene, the processor 230 mayperform the image quality improvement process with respect to the sixthscene using the image quality-related data regarding the sixth scene,which is stored in the storage 220, and may output the sixth scenehaving the improved image quality.

In an exemplary embodiment, the processor 230 may delete the imagequality-related data regarding the sixth scene which is stored in thestorage 220, and may store the image quality-related data regarding theseventh scene, which is received along with the images and the audioforming the sixth scene, in the storage 220.

Since the processor 230 deletes the image quality-related data which hasbeen used for the image quality improvement process, and stores newlyreceived image quality-related data as described above, the processor230 can continuously perform the image quality improvement process withrespect to all of the scenes forming the content even when there is nosufficient storage space in the storage 220, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

Meanwhile, the processor 230 may use a variety of information receivedfrom the source device 100 in performing the image quality improvementprocess.

First, the processor 230 may determine the number of divided imagequality-related data and the order of the divided image quality-relateddata based on the information received from the source device 100, andmay restore the original image quality-related data which is the same asbefore the image quality-related data is divided.

Specifically, when the source device 100 divides the imagequality-related data and transmits the same, the source device 100 maytransmit information about how many pieces the image quality-relateddata is divided into to the sink device 200 through the metadata packetsize of the SPD infoframe, and transmit information about the order ofthe divided image quality-related data to the sink device 200 throughthe metadata divide number of the SPD infoframe.

Accordingly, the processor 230 may determine whether all of the dividedimage quality-related data is received from the source device 100 or notusing information acquired through the metadata packet size, anddetermine the order of the divided image quality-related data usinginformation acquired through the metadata divide number, and generatethe original image quality-related data which is the same as before theimage quality-related data is divided by accumulating the divided imagequality-related data according to the determined order.

In addition, the processor 230 may determine a time at which the sceneis changed based on information received from the source device 100, andmay perform the image quality improvement process with respect to thenext scene using the stored image quality-related data when reproducingthe next scene.

That is, the source device 100 may transmit information about the timeat which the scene is changed to the sink device 200 through the scenetransition flag of the SPD infoframe.

Accordingly, the processor 230 may determine the time at which the sceneis changed with reference to the scene transition flag, and perform theimage quality improvement process with respect to images forming thecorresponding scene using the pre-stored image quality-related data whenthe scene is changed and a new scene is output.

Specifically, when the scene is changed and a new scene starts, thesource device 100 may set the scene transition flag in the HDMI frametransmitted to the sink device 200, that is, in the SPD infoframe of theHDMI frame including the first image frame of the new scene, to 1, andset the scene transition flag in the SPD infoframes of the other HDMIframes of the corresponding scene to 0, and transmit the HDMI frames tothe sink device 200.

Accordingly, the processor 230 may determine that the new scene startsfrom the HDMI frame in which the scene transition flag is set to 1 bit,and may perform the image quality improvement process using the imagequality-related data stored in the storage 220 when outputting theimages included in the HDMI frame.

That is, since the image quality-related data stored in the storage 220is data which has been already transmitted and stored, and concerns thenext scene to be output, the processor 230 may perform the image qualityimprovement process with respect to the new scene using the imagequality-related data stored in the storage 220.

In addition, since the processor 230 determines that the scene ischanged using the scene transition flag, the processor 230 may determinethat the image quality-related data included in the SPD infoframes ofthe HDMI frames including the HDMI frame in which the scene transitionflag is set to 1 bit, and the HDMI frames which have been received untilthe next HDMI frame in which the scene transition flag is set to 1 bitis received again is the image quality-related data regarding the nextscene.

That is, the processor 230 may determine that the image quality-relateddata received from the HDMI frame in which the scene transition flag isset to 1 bit until the next HDMI frame in which the scene transitionflag is set to 1 bit is received again is image quality-related dataregarding images included in the HDMI frame which is received after theHDMI frame in which the scene transition flag is set to 1 bit isreceived again.

Meanwhile, the processor 230 may determine the number of the next sceneto be output based on the information received from the source device100, and may determine whether the image quality-related data isapplicable to the next scene to be output based on the scene number of ascene to which the image quality-related data stored in the storage 220is applied.

Specifically, the source device 100 may transmit information, to thesink device 200, indicating how many scenes have been transmitted beforethe current scene is transmitted to the sink device 200, through thescene number of the SPD infoframe, and transmit information indicatingwhich scene is related to the image quality-related data transmitted tothe sink device 200 to the sink device 200 through the metadata scenenumber of the SPD infoframe.

Accordingly, the processor 230 may determine the scene number of thescene which is transmitted to the sink device 200, that is, the scenenumber of the scene which is currently output from the sink device 200,using information acquired through the scene number, and may determinethe scene number of the next scene to be output. In addition, theprocessor 230 may determine the scene number of the scene related to theimage quality-related data which is transmitted to the sink device 200using information acquired through the metadata scene number.

Accordingly, the processor 230 may compare the scene numbers anddetermine whether the image quality-related data transmitted to the sinkdevice 200 is applicable to the next scene to be output.

Meanwhile, the processor 230 may use information received from thesource device 100 for the image quality improvement process in additionto the above-described information, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

For example, the processor 230 may determine whether data inserted intothe SPD infoframe, which is transmitted from the source device 100, isimage quality-related data or not using “the metadata present” includedin the SPD infoframe.

In another example, according to an exemplary embodiment, the processor230 may determine whether there is a scene having a short reproducingtime after the scene transmitted from the source device 100, and thenumber of scenes having a short reproducing or reproduction time usingthe null metadata scene included in the SPD infoframe.

When a scene has a short reproducing or reproduction time, the sourcedevice 100 may not transmit image quality-related data regarding thenext scene of the scene having the short reproducing time, or maytransmit only a part of the image quality-related data regarding thenext scene as much as can be transmitted to the sink device 200.

Accordingly, when it is determined that there is a scene having a shortreproducing time based on the null metadata scene, the processor 230 maynot perform the image quality improvement process with respect to thenext scene of the scene having the short reproducing time, or mayperform the image quality improvement process with respect to the nextscene of the scene having the short reproducing time using only a partof the data e.g., only partially improve the image quality of the shortscene.

In addition, when the scene has a short reproducing time, the sourcedevice 100 may transmit the image quality-related data regarding thenext scene of the scene having the short reproducing time to the sinkdevice 200 before the scene having the short reproducing time is output.

In this case, when it is determined that there is the scene having theshort reproducing time based on the null metadata scene, the processor230 may store the received image quality-related data in the storage 220prior to outputting the scene having the short reproducing time, andperform the image quality improvement process with respect to the nextscene of the scene having the short reproducing time using the imagequality-related data stored in the storage 220.

For example, when the seventh scene has a short reproducing time, andthus the image quality-related data regarding the eighth scene cannot betransmitted to the sink device 200 while the content of the seventhscene is being transmitted, the source device 100 may transmit the imagequality-related data regarding the seventh scene and the imagequality-related data regarding the eighth scene to the sink device 200while transmitting the content of the sixth scene to the sink device200.

In an exemplary embodiment, the processor 230 may store the imagequality-related data regarding the seventh scene and the imagequality-related data regarding the eighth scene in the storage 230 whileoutputting the sixth scene, and perform the image quality improvementprocess with respect to the seventh scene and the eighth scene insequence using the image quality-related data.

FIG. 5B is a block diagram illustrating a sink device in detailaccording to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the sink device 200 may further include a receiver240, an image processor 250, an audio processor 260, an outputter 270, aremote control signal receiver 280, and an inputter 290, in addition tothe interface 210, the storage 220, and the processor 230. Theoperations of these elements may be controlled by the processor 230.Since the interface 210, the storage 220, and the processor 230 havebeen described above with reference to FIG. 5A, a detailed descriptionthereof will be omitted.

The receiver 240 may receive a broadcast content. The broadcast contentmay include an image, an audio, and additional data (for example,Electronic Program Guide (EPG)), and the receiver 240 may receive thebroadcast content from various sources such as terrestrial broadcasting,cable broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, Internet broadcasting, etc.

For example, the receiver 240 may be implemented to include a tuner (notshown), a demodulator (not shown), an equalizer (not shown), etc. toreceive a broadcast content transmitted from a broadcasting station.

The image processor 250 may process image data forming the content whichis received through the interface 210 and the receiver 240. For example,the image processor 250 may perform various image processing operations,such as decoding, scaling, noise filtering, frame rate conversion,resolution conversion, etc. with respect to the image data. The imagedata processed in the image processor 250 may be output to a display271.

The audio processor 260 may process audio data forming the content whichis received through the interface 210 and the receiver 240. For example,the audio processor 260 may perform various processing operations suchas amplification, noise filtering, etc., with respect to the audio data.The audio data processed in the audio processor 260 may be output to anaudio outputter 272.

The outputter 270 outputs the content. To achieve this, according to anexemplary embodiment, the outputter 270 may include the display 271 andthe audio outputter 272.

The display 271 displays images forming the content. Specifically, thedisplay 271 may output image data which is processed in the imageprocessor 250. In addition, the display 271 may display various screenswhich are generated in a graphic processor 234.

To achieve this, the display 271 may be implemented by using a LiquidCrystal Display (LCD), an Organic Light Emitting Display (OLED), etc.

The display 271 may further include additional elements according to itsimplementing method. For example, when the display 271 employs a liquidcrystal method, the display 271 may further include an LCD displaypanel, a backlight unit to supply light to the LCD display panel, apanel driving substrate to drive the panel, etc.

The audio outputter 272 outputs audios forming the content.Specifically, the audio outputter 272 may output the audio data which isprocessed in the audio processor 260. In addition, the audio outputter272 may output various notification sounds or voice message as well asthe audio data.

To achieve this, according to an exemplary embodiment, the audiooutputter 272 may be implemented by using a speaker. However, this ismerely an example and not by way of a limitation, and the audiooutputter 272 may be implemented by using any output terminal which canoutput audio data.

The remote control signal receiver 280 may receive a remote controlsignal input from a remote controller (not shown). For example, theremote control signal receiver 280 may receive remote control signalscorresponding to various user commands to control the operation of thesink device 200, and the processor 230 may perform a functioncorresponding to the received remote control signal.

The inputter 290 may receive various user commands. The processor 230may perform a function corresponding to the user command input throughthe inputter 290. To achieve this, according to an exemplary embodiment,the inputter 290 may be implemented by using an input panel. The inputpanel may implemented by using a touch pad, a key pad provided withvarious function keys, number keys, special keys, character keys, etc.,or a touch screen.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the processor 230 may include a Random AccessMemory (RAM) 231, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 232, a graphic processor 233,a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 234, first to n-th interfaces 235-1 to235-n, and a bus 236. The RAM 231, the ROM 232, the graphic processor233, the main CPU 234, and the first to n-th interfaces 235-1 to 235-nmay be connected with one another via the bus 236.

The ROM 232 may store a set of instructions for booting a system. Inresponse to a turn on command being input and power being supplied, theCPU 234 may copy an O/S stored in the storage 220 into the RAM 231according to a command stored in the ROM 232, and boot the system byexecuting the O/S. In response to the booting being completed, the CPU234 may copy various application programs stored in the storage 220 intothe RAM 231, and perform various operations by executing the applicationprograms copied into the RAM 231.

The graphic processor 233 may generate a screen including variousobjects such as an icon, an image, a text, etc. using a calculator (notshown) and a renderer (not shown). The calculator (not shown) maycalculate attribute values of objects to be displayed according to alayout of the screen, such as a coordinate value, a shape, a size, acolor, etc. The renderer may generate the screen of various layoutsincluding objects based on the attribute values calculated by thecalculator. The screen generated in the renderer is displayed within adisplay area of the display 271.

The CPU 234 may access the storage 220 and perform booting using the O/Sstored in the storage 220. In addition, the main CPU 234 may performvarious operations using various programs, content, data, etc. which arestored in the storage 220.

The first to n-th interfaces 235-1 to 235-n may be connected with theabove-described various elements. One of the interfaces may be a networkinterface which is connected with an external device via a network.

Meanwhile, in the above-described example, the source device 100transmits the image quality-related data regarding the next scene to thesink device 200 from the start of the scene. That is, the source device100 may insert the image quality-related data regarding the next sceneinto the SPD infoframe of the HDMI frame including the first image framefrom among the image frames forming the scene, and transmit the imagequality-related data to the sink device 200.

However, this is merely an example and not by way of a limitation. Thesource device 100 may transmit the image quality-related data regardingthe next scene to the sink device 200 at a certain time in the middle oftransmitting the scene to the sink device 200.

For example, the source device 100 may transmit the HDMI framesincluding only the images and the audios forming the fifth scene to thesink device 200, and may initially insert the image quality-related dataregarding the sixth scene at the time of transmitting the HDMI framesincluding the 22^(nd) image frame, and transmit the imagequality-related data to the sink device 200.

In addition, in the above-described example, the source device 100transmits the image quality-related data to the sink device 200 throughthe SPD infoframe.

However, this is merely an example and not by way of a limitation, andthe source device 100 may transmit the image quality-related data to thesink device 200 through various communication channels in addition tothe SPD infoframe.

For example, the source device 100 may transmit the imagequality-related data to the sink device 200 through a communicationchannel supported in the HDMI method, for example, an HDMI Ethernetchannel (HEC), Consumer Electronic Control (CEC), SCDC, etc.

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a method of performing an image qualityimprovement process according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates operations of the source device 100 and the sinkdevice 200 which are performed while the third scene (scene #3) to thesixth scene (scene #6) are output from among the plurality of scenesforming content, and illustrate metadata as image quality-related dataused for the image quality improvement process. This is provided by wayof an example only and not by way of a limitation.

When the transmission of HDMI frames forming scene #3 is completed, thesource device 100 transmits HDMI frames forming scene #4 to the sinkdevice 200. Herein, the HDMI frames forming scene #4 refer to HDMIframes which include audio signals from among the image frames formingscene #4.

In an exemplary embodiment, the source device 100 may insert the imagequality-related data (meta #5) regarding scene #5 which is the nextscene of scene #4 into data bytes 3-20 of the infoframe, and transmitthe image quality-related data to the sink device 200.

In addition, when the scene transmitted to the sink device 200 changesfrom scene #3 to scene #4, the source device 100 may set transition_flag(=scene transition flag) of the infoframe to 1 and transmit theinfoframe to the sink device 200.

In an exemplary embodiment, the source device 100 may set onlytransition_flag of the HDMI frames transmitted to the sink device 200when scene #3 is changed to scene #4 to 1, and set transition_flag ofthe other HDMI frames forming scene #4 to 0. That is, the source device100 may set only transition_flag of the first HDMI frame from among theHDMI frames of scene #4 (that is, the HDMI frame including the firstimage frames from among the image frames forming scene #4) to 1.

In addition, when the image quality-related data (meta #5) regardingscene #5 is divided, the source device 100 may insert information aboutthe number of packets forming the image quality-related data of scene #5(that is, 34 packet) into meta_length (=metadata packet size) of theinfoframe, and transmit the infoframe to the sink device 200.

In addition, the source device 100 may set meta_present (=metadatapresent) of the infoframe to 1 to indicate that the imagequality-related data is included in the infoframe, and transmit theinfoframe to the sink device 200.

When the transmission of all of the image quality-related data (meta #5)regarding scene #5 is completed, the source device 100 does not transmitthe image quality-related data (meta #5) regarding scene #5 anymore(that is, meta #Null). In an exemplary embodiment, the source device 100may insert information about the source device 100 into data bytes 3-20of the infoframe according to the HDMI standard, and transmit theinformation to the sink device 200.

When the image quality-related data (meta #5) regarding scene #5 is nottransmitted through the infoframe as described above, according to anexemplary embodiment, the source device 100 may set meta_present to 0and transmit the infoframe to the sink device 200.

Meanwhile, the sink device 200 may acquire the images and the audiosfrom the HDMI frames received from the source device 100, and outputscene #4.

In an exemplary embodiment, the sink device 200 may determine that thescene is changed based on 1 bit which is included in transition_flag ofthe first HDMI frame from among the HDMI frames forming scene #4, andmay perform the image quality improvement process with respect to theimages forming scene #4 prior to outputting scene #4 and output scene #4having improved image quality.

In an exemplary embodiment, the sink device 200 may perform the imagequality improvement process with respect to the images forming scene #4using the image quality-related data (meta #4) regarding scene #4, whichis stored while scene #3 is output.

In addition, the sink device 200 may determine that the imagequality-related data is included in the infoframe in which meta_presentis set to 1, and determine that the image quality-related data includedin the infoframe is divided into 34 pieces through meta_length.

Accordingly, in an exemplary embodiment, the sink device 200 may acquirethe image quality-related data regarding scene #5 from the infoframe ofthe 34 HDMI frames in which meta_present is set to 1, and store theimage quality-related data regarding scene #5.

Meanwhile, since the source device 100 and the sink device 200 use theabove-described method regarding the other scenes, according to anexemplary embodiment, a detailed description regarding the other sceneswill be omitted.

As described above, according to an exemplary embodiment, since thesource device 100 transmits the image quality-related data to the sinkdevice 200 one scene early or one scene before the scene is reproduced,the sink device 200 may store the image quality-related data receivedone scene before, and perform the image quality improvement process withrespect to a corresponding scene using the image quality-related dataprior to outputting the scene.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an image quality improvementprocessing method of a sink device according to an exemplary embodiment.

First, the sink device receives, from the source device, content, andimage quality-related data regarding the next scene to be output fromamong a plurality of scenes forming the content (in operation S710).That is, in an exemplary embodiment, the image quality-related data forthe next scene is received while a current scene is being output. Theimage quality-related data received from the source device is stored (inoperation S720).

Thereafter, the sink device performs an image quality improvementprocess regarding the next scene to be output using the stored imagequality-related data (in operation S730).

In an exemplary embodiment, the sink device may be connected with thesource device through an HDMI, and the image quality-related data may beincluded in SPD infoframes and transmitted to the sink device.

In addition, the image quality-related data may be divided in the sourcedevice and transmitted to the sink device.

In an exemplary embodiment, the sink device may determine the number ofthe divided image quality-related data and the order of the dividedimage quality-related data based on information received from the sourcedevice, and may restore the original image quality-related data which isthe same as before the image quality-related data is divided.

In operation S730, the sink device may determine a time at which thescene is changed based on the information received from the sourcedevice, and may perform the image quality improvement process withrespect to the next scene using the stored image quality-related datawhen outputting the next scene.

In the image quality improvement processing method according to one ormore exemplary embodiments, the sink device may determine the scenenumber of the next scene to be output based on the information receivedfrom the source device, and determine whether the stored imagequality-related data is applicable to the next scene to be output basedon the scene number of a scene to which the image quality-related datais applied.

The method for processing the image quality-related data to perform theimage quality improvement process with respect to the images forming thescene, and the method for performing the image quality improvementprocess using the image quality-related data, according to one or moreexemplary embodiments, have been described with reference to FIGS. 1 to6.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a source deviceaccording to an exemplary embodiment.

The source device acquires or obtains content and image quality-relateddata regarding the content (in operation S810).

For example, the content may be pre-stored in the source device or thesource device may acquire or obtain the content from an external mediumsuch as a DVD, a Blu-ray disk, a USB, an external hard disk, etc.

In another example, the source device may acquire a content from abroadcast signal provided by a broadcasting station, or may download acontent or receive streams of content from an external server (notshown) through the Internet.

In an exemplary embodiment, since the content producer provides thecontent and the metadata of the content in an encoded format, the sourcedevice may acquire or obtain the content and the metadata of the contentby decoding the encoded content data, and the metadata may include theimage quality-related data regarding the content.

However, this is merely an example and not a limitation, and the sourcedevice may acquire the content and the image quality-related datathereon in various methods.

Thereafter, the source device may transmit, to the sink device, imagequality-related data regarding the next scene to be output from amongthe plurality of scenes forming the content, along with the content ofthe scene currently being output from the sink device (in operationS820).

In an exemplary embodiment, the source device may divide the imagequality-related data regarding the next scene to be output, and transmitthe image quality-related data to the sink device.

In the control method according to exemplary embodiments, the sourcedevice may transmit to the sink device at least one of information aboutdivision of the image quality-related data, information about a time atwhich the scene transmitted to the sink device is changed, informationabout the scene transmitted to the sink device, and information aboutthe image quality-related data transmitted to the sink device.

In addition, in operation S820, the source device may determine whetherthe sink device is able to perform an image quality improvement processor not based on EDID received from the sink device, and, when the sinkdevice is able to perform the image quality improvement process,transmit the image quality-related data to the sink device. In responseto determining that the sink device is not able to perform the imagequality improvement process, the transmission of the imagequality-related data to the sink device may be omitted.

A method of processing the image quality-related data to perform theimage quality improvement process with respect to the images forming thescene, and the method of performing the image quality improvementprocess using the image quality-related data have been described withreference to FIGS. 1 to 6 according to one or more exemplaryembodiments.

A control method and an image quality improvement processing methodaccording to the above-described various exemplary embodiments may beimplemented as a program and provided to the source device 100 and thesink device 200. Specifically, a non-transitory computer readable mediumwhich stores a program including the control method of the source device100 and the image quality improvement processing method of the sinkdevice 200 may be provided.

The non-transitory computer readable medium refers to a medium thatstores data semi-permanently rather than storing data for a very shorttime, such as a register, a cache, a memory or etc., and is readable byan apparatus. Specifically, the above-described programs may be storedin the non-transitory computer readable medium such as a compact disc(CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a hard disk, a Blu-ray disk, auniversal serial bus (USB), a memory card, a ROM or etc., and may beprovided. In addition, the above-described programs may be stored in thestorage 140 of the source device 100 and the storage 220 of the sinkdevice 200 as examples of the non-transitory computer readable medium,and provided.

The foregoing exemplary embodiments are merely exemplary and are not tobe construed as limiting the present disclosure. The present disclosurecan be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. Also, thedescription of exemplary embodiments are intended to be illustrative,and not to limit the scope of the claims and their equivalents, and manyalternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sink device comprising: an interface configuredto receive, from a source device, content and image quality-related datasuch that a scene, from among a plurality of scenes forming the content,is received with the image quality-related data regarding a next sceneto be output after the scene; a storage configured to store the imagequality-related data received by the interface; and a processorconfigured to perform an image quality improvement process with respectto the next scene to be output using the image quality-related datastored in the storage.
 2. The sink device of claim 1, wherein the imagequality-related data is received, from the source device, by theinterface in a divided form.
 3. The sink device of claim 2, wherein theprocessor is further configured to: determine a number of the dividedimage quality-related data and an order of the divided imagequality-related data based on information received from the sourcedevice, and restore the divided image quality-related data to originalimage quality-related data which is the same as before the imagequality-related data is divided.
 4. The sink device of claim 1, furthercomprising: a display outputting the content; wherein the processor isfurther configured to: determine a time at which a scene is changedbased on information received from the source device, and perform theimage quality improvement process with respect to the next scene usingthe image quality-related data stored by the storage during outputtingof the next scene by the display.
 5. The sink device of claim 1, whereinthe processor is further configured to: determine a scene number of thenext scene to be output based on information received from the sourcedevice, and determine whether the stored image quality-related data isapplicable to the next scene to be output based on the scene numberdetermined by the processor.
 6. The sink device of claim 1, wherein theinterface is connected with the source device through a High-DefinitionMultimedia Interface (HDMI), and wherein the image quality-related datais received by the interface of the sink device in a source productdescription (SPD) infoframe.
 7. A source device comprising: an interfaceconfigured to transmit content to a sink device, which reproduces thecontent; and a processor configured to control the interface totransmit, to the sink device, image quality-related data along with thecontent such that a scene from among a plurality of scenes forming thecontent is transmitted with the image quality-related data regarding anext scene to be output after the scene.
 8. The source device of claim7, wherein the processor is further configured to divide the imagequality-related data regarding the next scene to be output, and controlthe interface to transmit, to the sink device, the image quality-relateddata divided by the processor.
 9. The source device of claim 8, whereinthe interface is further configured to transmit, to the sink device, atleast one of: information about division of the image quality-relateddata, information about a time at which the scene transmitted to thesink device is changed, information about the scene transmitted to thesink device, and information about the image quality-related datatransmitted to the sink device.
 10. The source device of claim 7,wherein: the processor is further configured to determine whether or notthe sink device is able to perform an image quality improvement processbased on extended display identification data (EDID) received by theinterface from the sink device, and in response to the processordetermining that the sink device is able to perform the image qualityimprovement process, the interface transmits the image quality-relateddata to the sink device.
 11. An image quality improvement processingmethod comprising: receiving, from a source device, content and imagequality-related data such that a scene, from among a plurality of scenesforming the content, is received with the image quality-related dataregarding a next scene to be output after the scene; storing thereceived image quality-related data; and performing an image qualityimprovement processing to the next scene using the stored imagequality-related data.
 12. The image quality improvement processingmethod of claim 11, wherein the image quality-related data is receivedin a divided form from the source device.
 13. The image qualityimprovement processing method of claim 12, further comprising:determining a number of the divided image quality-related data and anorder of the divided image quality-related data based on informationreceived from the source device; and restoring the divided imagequality-related data to original image quality-related data which is thesame as before the image quality-related data is divided.
 14. The imagequality improvement processing method of claim 11, further comprising:outputting the content comprising the plurality of scenes, wherein theperforming the image quality improvement process comprises determining atime at which a scene is changed based on information received from thesource device, and performing the image quality improvement processingto the next scene using the stored image quality-related data during theoutputting of the next scene.
 15. The image quality improvementprocessing method of claim 11, further comprising: determining a scenenumber of the next scene based on information received from the sourcedevice; and determining whether the stored image quality-related data isapplicable to the next scene based on the determined scene number. 16.The image quality improvement processing method of claim 11, wherein thereceiving from the source device is through a High-Definition MultimediaInterface (HDMI), and wherein the image quality-related data is receivedin a source product description (SPD) infoframe.
 17. A method ofcontrolling a source device, the method comprising: obtaining contentand image quality-related data; transmitting, to a sink device whichreproduces the content, the content and the image quality-related datasuch that a scene from among a plurality of scenes forming the contentis transmitted with the image quality-related data regarding a nextscene to be output after the scene.
 18. The control method of claim 17,further comprising dividing the image quality-related data regarding thenext scene to be output, and wherein the transmitting comprisestransmitting, to the sink device, the divided image quality-relateddata.
 19. The control method of claim 18, further comprisingtransmitting, to the sink device, at least one of: information aboutdivision of the image quality-related data, information about a time atwhich the scene transmitted to the sink device is changed, informationabout the scene transmitted to the sink device, and information aboutthe image quality-related data transmitted to the sink device.
 20. Thecontrol method of claim 17, further comprising: receiving extendeddisplay identification data (EDID) from the sink device; determiningwhether or not the sink device is able to perform an image qualityimprovement process based on the received EDID; and in response to thedetermining indicating that the sink device is able to perform the imagequality improvement process, performing the transmitting of the imagequality-related data, to the sink device.
 21. The sink device of claim1, wherein the image quality-related data comprises information aboutthe next scene when the next scene is originally produced on the sourcedevice.
 22. The sink device of claim 1, wherein the imagequality-related data for the next scene is transmitted from the sourcedevice to the sink device between transmission of image data for thescene and comprises at least two of brightness attributes, colorimetryattributes, resolution, and sharpness, of the original next scene whenreproduced by the source device.